There has been provided in the prior art various types of devices for delivering cotton from a cotton basket into a cotton trailer or module builder. Cotton which is picked from the fields is delivered to a large basket which when filled is dumped into a module builder or trailer. It is difficult to control the amount of cotton dumped into the trailer as the cotton tends to form into one big chunk or wad which moves as one unit from the cotton basket into the trailer. There have been various types of devices which attempt to provide a smooth feed to regulate the thickness of the cotton discharged into the trailer. For example, the Hubbard et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,160 discloses a conveyor which is mounted on the inclined discharge side of a cotton basket. A metering bar is positioned above and inwardly from the end of the conveyor and is rotated to regulate the thickness of the cotton delivered to the trailer and to provide a continuous flow of cotton into the trailer. However, this device is not entirely satisfactory in that the cotton tends to be dumped in one chunk or wad and the conveyor belt and meter bar as shown in the Hubbard patent do not provide means for breaking up the wads of cotton.
The Rood U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,376 discloses an apparatus which is designed to remove dirt and debris from cotton as it is picked up by a conveyor belt. There is included in this structure a rotating drum having pegs thereon which breaks up and loosens debris as the clumps of cotton are fed into an auger feed mechanism. The Fachini et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,617 discloses a cotton basket having a chain conveyor for unloading the cotton onto the discharge chute. There is no teaching in the prior art of a device which will simultaneously perform the plurality of functions carried out by the present invention which include in addition to delivering the cotton to the cotton trailer, the thickness of the cotton being fed to the trailer is controlled and the clumps or wads within the cotton delivered are broken up. In addition, delivery of the cotton from the cotton bed may be halted by terminating the rotation of the regulator.